A dinosaur graveyard in Kulinda, on the banks of the the Olov River in Transbaikal region, has given up some remarkable secrets. For the first time, plant-eating dinosaur remains with feathers and scales have been discovered. Until now, only flesh-eating dinosaurs were known to have been feathered.

The latest find in Siberia indicates that - on the contrary - all dinosaurs could have been feathered, says a paper in Science magazine.

'It is a big discovery. It has completely changed our vision of dinosaurs', lead researcher Dr Pascal Godefroit, of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, who worked alongside Russian scientists, told the BBC.

The new knowledge comes from a plant-eating creature called Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus, which was around one metre long. It had a short snout, long hind legs, short arms, and five strong fingers. Fossil remains show 'reptile-like scales on its tail and shins, and short bristles on its head and back. The most astonishing discovery, however, is that it also has complex, compound feathers associated with its arms and legs,' reported http://www.naturalsciences.be

This animal was a ornithischian - which account for half of all dinosaurs.

The new knowledge comes from a plant-eating creature called Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus, which was around one metre long. It had a short snout, long hind legs, short arms, and five strong fingers. Picture: Andrei Atuchin

"Although the word dinosaur means "terrible lizard", the name is somewhat misleading, as dinosaurs are not lizards. Instead, they represent a separate group of reptiles that, like many extinct forms, did not exhibit characteristics traditionally seen as reptilian, such as a sprawling limb posture or ectothermy. Additionally, many prehistoric animals, including mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, and Dimetrodon, are popularly conceived of as dinosaurs, but are not taxonomically classified as dinosaurs. Through the first half of the 20th century, before birds were recognized to be dinosaurs, most of the scientific community believed dinosaurs to have been sluggish and cold-blooded. Most research conducted since the 1970s, however, has indicated that all dinosaurs were active animals with elevated metabolisms and numerous adaptations for social interaction."

So, you tell me -- does that say dinosaurs were reptiles, or doesn't it?

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